SunSirs: China Launches Pilot Program for Comprehensive Hydrogen Energy Application

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission and other three departments recently jointly issued a notice to deploy and carry out pilot projects for the comprehensive application of hydrogen energy. The notice proposes to select urban agglomerations with a solid industrial foundation, rich application scenarios, strong hydrogen energy resource guarantee capabilities and complete industrial chains to take the lead in carrying out pilot projects for the comprehensive application of hydrogen energy through the "publicly listing key tasks to attract capable entities to tackle them" approach. These urban agglomerations will scientifically, orderly and actively explore paths for the commercial comprehensive application of hydrogen energy, improve the policy environment for industrial development, and promote the integrated and interconnected development of the entire hydrogen energy industry chain covering "production, storage, transportation and application". By 2030, hydrogen energy in urban agglomerations will be applied on a large scale in multiple fields, with the average price of terminal hydrogen use dropping to below 25 yuan per kilogram, and striving to drop to around 15 yuan per kilogram in some advantageous regions; the national ownership of fuel cell vehicles will double compared with 2025, striving to reach 100,000 units.

Notice on Launching Pilot Work for Comprehensive Hydrogen Energy Applications

MIIT Joint Circular 〔2026〕 No. 59

Departments of Industry and Information Technology, Finance Departments (Bureaus), Development and Reform Commissions of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities specifically designated in the state plan, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; relevant central enterprises:

To implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and in accordance with the work arrangements specified in the "Medium- and Long-Term Plan for the Development of the Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021 - 2035)" and the "Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Application of Clean and Low-Carbon Hydrogen in the Industrial Sector", the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission (hereinafter collectively referred to as the three ministries) have organized and launched the pilot work on the comprehensive application of hydrogen energy. This is aimed at driving down costs through large-scale applications in multiple scenarios, facilitating breakthroughs in hydrogen energy technology and equipment innovation, and promoting the high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry. Relevant matters are hereby notified as follows:

I. General Requirements

In accordance with the principles of application-driven, scenario-driven, adaptation to local conditions, and collaborative linkage, through urban agglomeration pilots, the hydrogen energy application scenarios will be expanded from fuel cell vehicles to multiple qualified fields such as transportation and industry. Efforts will be made to enhance the supply capacity of clean and low-carbon hydrogen, tackle a number of technical bottlenecks in the field of hydrogen energy application, break through industrial development constraints, form multiple replicable and promotable commercial application models, build an economical, reasonable and efficient comprehensive hydrogen energy application system, and create a sound industrial ecology. The three departments will select urban agglomerations with a solid industrial foundation, rich application scenarios, strong hydrogen energy resource guarantee capabilities, and complete industrial chains to take the lead in carrying out comprehensive hydrogen energy application pilots through the "unveiling the list and taking command" approach. These pilots will scientifically, orderly and actively explore the path of commercial comprehensive application of hydrogen energy, improve the policy environment for industrial development, and promote the integrated and interconnected development of the entire hydrogen energy industry chain covering "production, storage, transportation and utilization".

By 2030, hydrogen energy in urban agglomerations will be applied on a large scale in multiple fields, with the average price of terminal hydrogen reduced to below 25 yuan per kilogram, and strive to drop to around 15 yuan per kilogram in some advantageous regions. The national ownership of fuel cell vehicles will double compared with 2025, striving to reach 100,000 units. Through the expansion of application scale, we will promote innovative breakthroughs in hydrogen energy application technologies, processes and equipment, realize iterative upgrades of fuel cells, electrolyzers, storage and transportation devices and materials, drive hydrogen energy to become a new economic growth point, and support the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development.

II. Pilot Tasks

Each urban agglomeration should prioritize the selection of qualified application scenarios such as fuel cell vehicles, green ammonia and methanol, hydrogen-based chemical raw material substitution, hydrogen metallurgy, and hydrogen-blended combustion for pilot projects. They should actively explore innovative application scenarios of hydrogen energy to form a comprehensive hydrogen energy application ecosystem of "1 general scenario for fuel cell vehicles + N application scenarios in industrial fields + X innovative application scenarios" (see Annex 1 for the declaration requirements and basic goals of each scenario). (I) Fuel cell vehicles. Focusing on the construction of hydrogen energy highways and hydrogen energy corridors, we will prioritize promoting the large-scale application of commercial vehicles such as medium and heavy-duty vehicles, medium and long-distance transportation vehicles, and cold chain logistics vehicles. We will encourage the application of vehicles in public transportation, urban logistics, urban sanitation, and muck transportation, and explore the application of passenger vehicles such as official cars and online-hailed cars. (II)Green ammonia and methanol. With the main goal of improving the technical and economic efficiency of green ammonia and methanol and expanding downstream consumption, we will innovate production technologies and processes, and promote large-scale production and application. We will integrally construct renewable energy hydrogen production projects and carry out off-grid hydrogen production based on local conditions. We will establish stable downstream consumption channels for products such as green synthetic ammonia and green methanol. It is strictly prohibited to build coal-based ammonia and methanol projects in the name of green ammonia and methanol. (III) Hydrogen-based chemical raw material substitution. With the main objective of promoting carbon emission reduction in major hydrogen-consuming industries such as refining and chemical industry and coal chemical industry, we will scientifically construct renewable energy hydrogen production projects and gradually replace existing hydrogen production from fossil energy sources such as coal and natural gas. We will encourage the layout of hydrogen storage and transportation infrastructure. (IV)Hydrogen metallurgy. With the main aim of promoting the transformation of the iron and steel industry from high-carbon processes to low-carbon processes, we will utilize clean and low-carbon hydrogen sources such as industrial by-product hydrogen and renewable energy-produced hydrogen in nearby areas, and construct low-carbon metallurgical devices using hydrogen-rich/pure hydrogen gas as reducing agents. We will establish stable downstream consumption channels for products such as low-carbon steel. (V)Hydrogen-blended combustion. With the main goal of promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of industrial and residential heating, on the premise of ensuring safety and reliability, we will promote the use of renewable energy-produced hydrogen as a high-quality heat source, directly blending it into natural gas pipelines or industrial boilers, kilns, and other equipment, and gradually increase the hydrogen blending ratio. (VI)Innovative application scenarios. With the main focus on exploring diverse application scenarios of hydrogen energy, we will promote the innovative application of hydrogen energy in scenarios such as rail locomotives, ships, mining trucks, forklifts, two-wheeled vehicles, aircraft, backup power supplies, combined heat and power, new energy storage, electronics, and pharmaceuticals.

III. Pilot Application and Selection

(I)Declaring Entity. The hydrogen energy comprehensive application pilot project shall be declared with urban agglomerations as the main entity. The declaring urban agglomerations shall voluntarily form a group in accordance with the requirements of "regional connectivity, industrial collaboration, and ecological closed-loop", and negotiate to determine the leading city.

(II)Declaration Requirements. The specific declaration requirements are as follows:

1. Urban agglomerations should have clear hydrogen energy application scenarios, strong guarantee capabilities for clean and low-carbon hydrogen resources, a sound industrial chain foundation, a favorable policy and institutional environment, and relatively mature experience in hydrogen energy applications.

2. Urban agglomerations should give full play to the leading enterprises' role as the main support and their role in integrating and driving the development of hydrogen energy infrastructure and application scenarios.

3. The leading city of the urban agglomeration should strengthen resource integration, enhance policy guarantees, and achieve efficient organization, overall planning and coordination of the urban agglomeration.

4. Urban agglomerations should take the application of fuel cell vehicles as a universal scenario, and determine application scenarios in accordance with local industrial foundations and characteristics in a context-appropriate manner, so as to form an application ecosystem where various scenarios are synergistically linked and developed complementarily.

5. Urban agglomerations should base themselves on their own resource conditions, adapt measures to local conditions and develop hydrogen energy where appropriate. They should avoid a rush to launch projects in all scenarios and low-level redundant construction.

6. Urban agglomerations should ensure that the construction and operation of relevant projects comply with national regulations and standards regarding safety, energy conservation, environmental protection, and quality. (III)SelectionProcess. The leading city shall organize other cities to jointly formulate the work plan for the hydrogen energy comprehensive application pilot project in the urban agglomeration, specifying the overall goals of hydrogen energy comprehensive application, as well as the detailed task objectives for each year, each city, and each scenario (see Annex 2 for the outline of the work plan). The leading city shall sign cooperation agreements with other cities to define their respective task divisions and functional orientations. Other cities shall provide commitment letters to the leading city to ensure the completion of their respective task objectives. The provincial competent departments of industry and information technology, finance, development and reform, etc., where the leading city is located, shall strengthen the guidance on the application work, be responsible for guiding the optimization of the composition, functional orientation, and task division of the urban agglomeration, ensure that the composition, task objectives, and safeguard measures of the urban agglomeration are scientific, reasonable, and feasible, and submit the eligible urban agglomeration work plans and application documents to the three ministries through the Hydrogen Energy Comprehensive Application Pilot Management Service Platform (www.hydrogen-china.org.cn). The deadline for submitting pilot materials in 2026 is April 15, 2026.

Three departments entrust a third-party institution to conduct a comprehensive review of the eligible application plans and issue review opinions. The applying urban agglomerations should revise and improve their application plans in accordance with the review opinions, and submit them to the three departments after obtaining the approval of the provincial competent departments of industry and information technology, finance, and development and reform where the leading city is located. The three departments will review the improved application plans, select 5 urban agglomerations optimally, and implement each plan as soon as it is mature.

IV. Reward Standards

The central government will adopt a "reward instead of subsidy" approach to provide incentive funds to urban agglomerations. The reward standards are set in tiers based on the application of terminal products in various scenarios or the scale of hydrogen consumption (see Annex 3 for details on the fund support standards). Each urban agglomeration will have a pilot period of 4 years. The maximum reward for a single urban agglomeration during the pilot period shall not exceed 1.6 billion yuan. The incentive funds shall be coordinated by local authorities to support the comprehensive application of hydrogen energy, and shall not be used for other purposes such as balancing budgets, repaying government debts, or clearing arrears to enterprises. All urban agglomerations should give full play to the effectiveness of the incentive funds, effectively reduce the cost of hydrogen use, and effectively transmit this to the consumption link of terminal products.

V. Performance Evaluation and Fund Allocation

After the end of each pilot year, the leading city of each urban agglomeration shall, within 30 days, sort out and summarize the work progress, completion of task objectives, problems encountered, work plans, etc. of the previous year, as well as the detailed information on the application of terminal products and hydrogen consumption scale in various scenarios, and compile a self-evaluation report. The self-evaluation report shall be submitted to the three ministries after being reviewed and approved by the provincial competent departments of industry and information technology, finance, and development and reform where the leading city is located. The three ministries will entrust a third-party institution to conduct performance evaluation on the urban agglomerations through data review, on-site inspections, on-site verifications, expert evaluations, etc., combined with data from the hydrogen energy comprehensive application pilot management service platform, and issue a performance evaluation report. In accordance with the method of "advance allocation first, liquidation later", after the pilot urban agglomerations are approved, the central finance will pre-allocate a certain proportion of incentive funds to support the urban agglomerations in launching the hydrogen energy comprehensive application pilot work. After the end of each pilot year, the three ministries will calculate incentive points based on the annual performance evaluation results of the urban agglomerations (in principle, 1 point is rewarded with 80,000 yuan). After the implementation of the policy, the incentive funds will be liquidated based on the overall performance evaluation results of the urban agglomerations. Projects in the hydrogen energy application link that have already received support from financial funds such as ultra-long-term special national bonds, central budgetary investment, and government special bonds shall not repeatedly apply for support from the incentive funds of this pilot project.

VI. Organization and Implementation

Provincial competent authorities should play a role in organizing and coordinating, guide urban agglomerations to clarify their functional positioning and division of labor, establish communication, coordination and organization mechanisms among cities, propose internal supervision, assessment systems and punishment measures for urban agglomerations, create a sound policy and institutional environment, and ensure the effective implementation of pilot projects. Urban agglomerations are the main responsible entities for the pilot work of comprehensive hydrogen energy application. They should set up leading groups and special work teams, clarify responsibilities and task division, and promote the completion of various objectives and tasks on schedule. Establish and improve safety management systems, clarify specific responsible departments, and advance the pilot work on the basis of ensuring safety. Pilot cities are encouraged to actively introduce supporting policies and increase R&D support for key technological equipment in the fields of hydrogen production, storage, transportation and utilization. After receiving central financial incentives, local governments should allocate the funds in a timely manner in accordance with regulations. Improve the policy and institutional environment, establish and improve the management measures for the construction and operation of hydrogen energy infrastructure, and encourage the introduction of convenient policies such as the passage of fuel cell vehicles between cities. Local governments are encouraged to strengthen the coordination between finance and finance, encourage enterprises to create conditions to link up with policies such as loan interest subsidies for service industry operators, and provide diversified financial guarantees for the pilot comprehensive application of hydrogen energy.

VII. Supervision and Management

The three departments will strengthen process guidance for the pilot work on the comprehensive application of hydrogen energy, organize third-party institutions and industry experts to provide whole-process technical support and follow-up guidance, enhance performance management, and implement node control. Urban clusters shall, as required, upload data and information related to the comprehensive application of hydrogen energy to the management service platform for the pilot projects of comprehensive hydrogen energy application. For urban clusters whose progress falls short of expectations, the three departments will, depending on the circumstances, take measures such as requiring the adjustment of work plans, deducting or suspending incentive funds, suspending the participation of cities, or canceling the pilot qualification of urban clusters. The three departments will comprehensively consider the implementation status such as technological progress and pilot progress, as well as the industrial development situation, regularly optimize the technical index requirements for various scenarios, and adjust the pilot objectives, application scenarios, and composition of urban clusters in a timely manner.

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